Telecommunications networks are experiencing a drastic technology shift—from a circuit-switched architecture (such as the current voice phone network) to a packet-switched architecture (such as the global Internet). Worldwide, the capacity of deployed packet-switched networks is doubling every year while circuit-switched capacity is only increasing at an annual rate of around 6%. In many developed regions, packet-switched capacity already exceeds circuit-switched capacity. Recognizing this trend, telecommunications providers have begun to optimize their networks for the technology that is expected to dominate future growth: packet-switching. As they deploy packet-switched technology, these providers must still support traditional circuit-switched applications such as voice and facsimile. Instead of operating parallel network infrastructures, however, clearinghouse service providers seek to support those applications over a packet-switched network. This approach offers several advantages: greater efficiency through the use of a single, common, network infrastructure; lower cost through a reliance on packet-switching equipment; and better support of innovative new services through an open architecture.
As circuit-switched applications move to a packet-switched network, service providers need a way to identify systems on the packet-switched network that are associated with addresses (typically telephone numbers) common to the circuit-switched world. Providers must also have a means to authorize communications, and to ensure that unauthorized communications do not consume bandwidth. For example, the provisioning of a physical, circuit-switched, connection between two providers typically serves as authorization for the providers to share traffic. In a packet-switched environment, however, communicating parties need not share a physical connection and some other means of authorizing traffic is required. Finally, providers must have a reliable way to collect information from packet-switched devices to account for customer usage (e.g., for billing).
There remains a need in the art for a convenient, centralized application to provide authorization, or enrollment, for circuit-switched applications in a packet-switched network environment. Enrollment is the process of taking a device and exchanging sufficient cryptographic information with the clearinghouse server so that later communications with that device can be secured.
The conventional art does not provide an effective, secure way to enroll a device with a clearinghouse server. In particular, the identity of the clearinghouse server is verified by a telephone call. This verification has many drawbacks. Telephone calls are not automated, and require contact with people. As people have certain work hours, and cannot be relied upon to always be available, the telephone call verification is impractical, and time consuming. In addition, as packet-switched architecture becomes more and more popular, this problem will become more pronounced.